Paulius Galaunė (January 25, 1890 in Pagelažiai near

Ukmergė Ukmergė (; previously ''Vilkmergė''; ) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius. It is the administrative center of the Ukmergė District Municipality. Ukmergė (Vilkmergė) was mentioned for the first time as a ...

– October 18, 1988 in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

) was a

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n art historian, museum curator, and graphic artist. He was one of the first professional museum curators in Lithuania and was well-published on topics of Lithuanian folk art. The apartment of Galaunė and his wife Adelė Nezabitauskaitė, an opera singer, was converted into the Galaunė Family Museum in 1995, and contains his personal belongings as well as his works. It is part of the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum. He was buried in

Petrašiūnai Cemetery Petrašiūnai Cemetery () is Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, arts, and science. Location Petrašiūnai Cemetery is located about south-east of the cent ...

Career

Between 1910 and 1913, Galaunė studied at the Institute of Psychoneurology in

University of St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. He studied art in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

(Drawing School of the

Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts The Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (Russian: Императорское общество поощрения художеств (ОПХ)) was an organization devoted to promoting the arts that existed in Saint Petersburg from ...

) and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1914 he worked at ''

Aušrinė Aušrinė ("dawning", not to be confused with ''Aušra'', "dawn") is a feminine deity of the morning star (Venus) in the Lithuanian mythology. She is the Wiktionary:antipode, antipode to "Vakarinė", the evening star. Her cult possibly stems fr ...

'' magazine. Upon return to Lithuania in 1918, he worked the National Museum of Lithuania until 1923, when he took an internship at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

to study

museology Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

. In 1924 he was appointed as director of the M. K. Čiurlionis Gallery. He remained at the post until 1949, overseeing its transformation into the Vytautas the Great Museum in 1936 and M. K. Čiurlionis Art Museum in 1944. As the museum director, he brought back dispersed works of

M. K. Čiurlionis M, or m, is the thirteenth letter of the English alphabet. M may also refer to: Companies and products * M (fragrance), a 2008 fragrance by Mariah Carey * M-series rangefinder, a series of List of Leica Camera models#M-series rangefinder, Leic ...

to house them in a specialized museum. Galaunė was also a member of the State Commission of Archaeology from 1919–1925 and 1930–1936. He organized folk art exhibitions in Italy (1925), France (1927), Sweden, Norway, Denmark (1931). He taught at the

University of Lithuania Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the Polish–Lithuanian War, interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the Univ ...

(1925–1939),

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

(1940–1946), and

Vilnius Academy of Art The Vilnius Academy of Arts (, previously ''State Art Institute of Lithuania'') in Vilnius, Lithuania, grants a variety of degrees in the arts. History The Academy traces its roots back to the creation of the Architecture Department at Viln ...

(1945–1950).

Works

As an artist, Galaunė created graphics, book covers and illustrations, headpieces,

bookplate An , also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. Simple typographical bookplates are ...

s. His works often featured fantastic content and had

secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

features. He also collected, studies, systemized folk and professional art. One of his most important academic works, ''Lietuvių liaudies menas'' (Lithuanian Folk Art), was published in 1930. The book, co-authored with Justinas Vienožinskis, was translated into French and Swedish. Another major publication was a six-volume album ''Lietuvių liaudies menas'' (1956–1968). Galaunė also prepared and published albums of works of medieval paintings (1926), Lithuanian wood carvers (1927), M. K. Čiurlionis (1927), Mečislovas Bulaka (1936),

Adomas Galdikas Adomas Galdikas (October 18, 1893, in Giršinai, near Mosėdis – December 7, 1969, in New York City) was a Lithuanian painter, graphic artist, and scenographer. Biography Galdikas graduated from Baron Stieglitz's painting studio in Saint P ...

(1969).

Awards

Galaunė received the following awards: * Lithuanian

Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great () is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguish ...

(1931) * Latvian

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars () is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is ''Per aspera ad astra'', meaning "Through hardships towards the ...

(1938) * Swedish

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

(1938) * French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(1939) * Belgian

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

* National Prize of the Lithuanian SSR (1970)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galaune, Paulius 1890 births 1988 deaths Lithuanian art critics Lithuanian artists Academic staff of Vilnius University Recipients of the Order of Vytautas the Great Recipients of the Order of Vasa Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of Leopold II Directors of museums in Lithuania Academic staff of the Vilnius Academy of Arts Saint Petersburg State University alumni Academic staff of Vytautas Magnus University Burials at Petrašiūnai Cemetery